Daanbantayan Mayor Loot: Jovie Espenido Can Help Clear My Name

Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot said Tuesday, August 29, that he would have preferred Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido to be assigned in his town, adding that the police official could help clear his name.

“Knowing him as a person and his integrity as a police officer, I believe he would be the key to my being cleared of all the false and baseless accusations,” Loot said.

Loot is among the officials who were identified as a drug protector by President Rodrigo Duterte last year.

In an interview with local reporters last weekend, Espenido, who led the operation against the Parojinogs in Ozamiz City, said that he would solve the illegal drug problem in Central Visayas as soon as possible if he is assigned here.

But last Monday, President Duterte announced that Espenido’s next assignment would be Iloilo City.

Loot said that Espenido knows his personality and background being a fellow police officer, and that he would be able to find out what the truth is if he is assigned in Cebu.

“I am comfortable with him and I can lay down my cards, and he can pick up from the pieces of information I will provide him as we belonged to the same region before,” Loot said.

He said that for sure, Espenido has a better understanding of the situation in Region 8 where the demolition job against him started.

Loot was a police chief superintendent and his last assignment before retiring was in Camp Crame in Manila.

Source: SunStar PH